Venii
Species Overview Homeworld: V'en Home Galaxy: M-31 (the Andromeda Galaxy) Home System: Li'nii (literally "home star") Current Population: 57.3 billion spread across twenty-two worlds. Primary Language: Venii Fur/Skin Tone: Ranging shades of red, orange, blue, indigo, and violet. Major Planets: V'en, Sii-Mai, Qi'lan Affiliation: Venii Conclave Current GATO Status: Ally The Venii "Rise and fall often go hand-in-hand. How curious, then, that so few ever see them coming." '- Exarch Jit'an Nuuk' Appearence and Abilities Avian-like humanoids, the Venii boast above-human intelligence and reasoning powers, but lack much in the way of physical prowess. To that end, they rely much on their technology in combat, but can still be trained to lethal warriors with the small claws that remain on their fingertips from more primitive times. Venii are oftentimes characterized by vestigal horns that frill backwards on their skulls, and their lack of body hair. There is no set caste system within the Conclave, and skin tone is a compeltely meaningless aspect of physiology, though some genetic modifications can be made in utero to produce a specific color. It should be noted, however, that ever since the Telin sect took control of the Venii government in the Earth year 1698 AD, nearly all Venii Exarchs have had a shade of indigo mixed with deep blue patterned skin. This phenomenon remains a mystery to this day. Unlike some other prominent species, Venii lack natural-born psionic abilities such as telekinesis or telepathy. Those that have spent their lives in meditation (and attained a state relatively close to ascension) have exposed such powers, but even then, very few ever reach that level of development, no doubt to the Venii obsession with controlling the physical world around them; they have a very difficult time "letting go" and embracing a higher spirituality. History The Venii are an old race, establishing themselves as a spacefaring power at around the time the first Asgard vessels were reaching the Milky Way. Since they lacked hyperdrives in their early days, the Venii constructed massive FTL relay stations across the Andromeda Galaxy, connecting far-flung outposts and colony worlds in a vast network rivalling the Alteran stargates. Eventually, they had colonized over a third of the galaxy, wiping out or enslaving all lesser races they encountered. But this was not to last. Almost five-thousand years ago, the Venii Conclave erupted into a civil war that lasted for 4700 years. When the dust finally settled, most of the FTL Relays had been destroyed, and the Venii fleet, once thousands of ships strong, was reduced to less than a hundred. Their interstellar empire crippled, their previous "client races" revolted, freeing themselves of oppression and restoring a balance of power in the galaxy. As they rebuild many of their Relay stations around Andromeda, the Venii have, recently, become a very powerful force yet again. Now standing united against any outward foes, they have constructed a fleet of four-hundred ships, all scattered throughout their domain. Since most of their territories are small star sectors separated from one another by massive distances, the Relay network is more important than ever; while they boast incredibly fast sublight engines, Venii hyperdrives are extremely slow, and they rely on the Relays to get ships quickly around their empire. With the Andromeda Galaxy under attack, however, the Venii have opted for a wait-and-see approach. They are guarding their Relays closely, watching the carnage around them. Their leader, the Exarch, has decreed that until they posess the means to launch a full-scale attack on the invading forces (perhaps an alliance with another powerful race could convince them), the fleets will stay on the defensive. Technology Venii technology is extremely advanced and delicate, relying on redundancies and back-up systems to ensure maximum efficiency. They are especially proficient with stealth systems, sublight engineering, and maneuvering thrusters, giving their vessels deadly agility in space combat. Combat Philosophy Ground Combat Due to their relatively weak muscular structure (in comparison to other major species), the Venii rely on their reflexes and reaction time to defeat opponants. They concentrate almost exclusively on overwhelming numbers, first strikes, and disarming moves to take down enemies, and Venii special forces troops are often given genetic stimuli to increase their muscle-mass artificially. Some of the oldest forms of Venii martial arts are still in use today, particularly the San-il style, which emphasizes the use of claws to tear at a foe's vital regions. The "shredding Venii" is a common Andromeda slang term for unspeakable pain, a testament to this ancient method of attack. Space Combat While the Venii Jas-jii cruiser is capable of attacking enemy battleships head on, most of the Conclave Navy is made of small, agile craft that rely on precision strikes and mass numbers to win in battle. Common Venii tactics include cloaking and surprising an enemy, straffing a ship, then scattering in all directions before returning for another pass, making it impossible to hit them all, and utilization of gravity wells to slip-up larger, less-nimble enemy vessels. See Also Ships:Venii Technology:Venii Places:Venii Organizations:Venii Timelines:Venii Category:Aliens